The amount of optical zoom packed into modern digital cameras is increasing at a steady rate and Canon have broken new ground with the PowerShot SX50 HS - as the name suggests, it has 50x optical zoom, a 35mm equivalent of 24-1200mm. It is available to purchase at £449.00.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Features

The SX50 HS has a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, designed for shooting with low noise and high image quality, even in low light. The 50x optical zoom lens is a 35mm equivalent of 24-1200mm, which can be extended to 100x using Zoom Plus. Thanks to its Ultra Sonic Motor the lens has near-silent zooming. To help take the sharpest shots possible there is 4.5 stop optical image stabilisation.

As well as Smart Auto, which selects the correct camera settings from 58 scenes, there are full manual controls and you also shoot in RAW. You can record full resolution images at up to 13 fps for up to 10 shots using High-speed Burst HQ mode. When zooming you can use Enhanced Zoom Framing Assist to help keep track of subjects in the distance.

Videos are recorded at full 1080p HD at 24 fps with stereo sound. To ensure they are as steady as possible there is Enhanced Dynamic IS to compensate for rolling motion and conventional camera shake for steady movies. The camera can be connected to a HDTV via HDMI for playback.

Key Features

12.1 megapixel HS System with DIGIC 5

50x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 24-1200mm)

4.5 stop optical image stabilisation

2.8 inch vari-angle LCD screen

Full manual controls and RAW

Electronic Viewfinder (EVF)

Full 1080p HD video recording with stereo sound

ISO 80-6400

0cm minimum focusing distance

13 fps full resolution continuous shooting

HDR mode

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Handling

The SX50 looks very much like a DSLR and has a solid plastic body and feels extremely well made. Although it's not rubberised, there is a chunky hand grip, aided by a dotted groove for your right hand thumb. There is also a hotshoe socket and mode dial which adds to its DSLR feel. To activate the flash you need to manually pop it up, with a dedicated button to the side to switch between flash modes.

The 2.8 inch is bright and clear and can be manipulated into many articles to make it easy to shoot low down, high up or self-portraits. The EVF is also bright, useful for shooting in low light conditions or when using the zoom at a long length. To switch to the EVF you need to press the display button, it would be good if this was automatic when you put your eye to the eyepiece. This also switches on the level which helps keep your shots level.

There are two buttons on the side of the camera, located near the lens barrel. These are Framing Assist seek and lock. Seek allows you to quickly zoom out and back in again, ideal if you lost your subject from the frame. Lock enables image stabilisation when you are composing your shot, to help you frame your shot perfectly.

Other buttons include face select and ISO as well as other typical buttons such as macro and exposure compensation. The menu system is well laid out and easy to understand. The function button gives you quick access to many of the settings available in the mode you are in.

The battery has an impressive CIPA rating of 315 shots, we managed this and more and just one charge during testing. We tested the camera's performance at focusing, shutter response, shot-to-shot time, continuous shooting etc. and have posted the results below. To test this we took 6 or more shots and calculated the average.

Shutter Response

0.1 seconds

Wide - Focus / Shutter Response

0.35 seconds

Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response

0.4 seconds

Switch on Time to Taking a Photo

1.9 seconds

Shot to Shot (without flash)

2.6 seconds

Shot to Shot with Flash

3.3 seconds

Continuous Shooting

0.9 fps

Continuous Shooting with flash

0.5 fps

Continuous Shooting in Sports mode

5.0 fps

High-speed Burst HQ

12.9 fps

All of the continuous shooting modes record at full 12.1 megapixel resolution.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Performance

Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Sample Photos

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Sample Photos - Images are well exposed with excellent colour production and portraits have very pleasant skin tones as well as being free of red-eye. The camera is capable of taking pictures of faraway objects, including the moon, with a good amount of detail.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Lens test images

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Lens Performance - Detail is really good at both ends of the lens, the Canon has 100x ZoomPlus written on the camera, but image quality is not better than you'd expect when using digital zoom. There isn't too much signs of purple fringing in contrasting areas. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0cm, meaning it can be touching your subject and still take a picture, of course this means there needs to be light coming from your subject, so we have demonstrated it by taking a picture of the computer screen. When viewing at 100% you can see the red, blue and green segments that make up each pixel.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS ISO test images

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ISO Noise Performance - Noise is low at ISO 80 and 100, with very little appearing at ISO 200, 400 and 800. Images become softer at ISO 1600 and more so at ISO 3200, although image quality is still good. Images at ISO 6400 are very soft, with a significant reduction in image quality.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS White-balance test images

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White Balance Performance - Under the incandescent lights, the AWB setting gives an orange cast, with the incandecent preset taking the better picture. When switching to our fluorescent lights, both the AWB and fluorescent presets perform really well.

Sport Mode | 1/1250 sec | f/5.6 | 118.2 mm | ISO 500

Zoom Example | 1/1250 sec | f/6.5 | 204.3 mm | ISO 320

Low Light | 0.4 sec | f/5.0 | 14.7 mm | ISO 100

HDR | 1/500 sec | f/4.0 | 5.8 mm | ISO 80

A camera with a long zoom is going to be popular with those who want to attempt sports photography, with examples above demonstrating its ability to shoot at fast shutter speeds, even when using plenty of zoom.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Digital filters

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Digital Filters - There are a number of very creative filters, if you've owned a recent Canon compact camera you'll already be familiar with them. When using normal shooting modes, such as P, S, A and M, there are also My Colours which can make your pictures unique, although they can't be used if you're shooting in RAW,

Video - Below is a video recorded in full 1080p HD. Quality is good. You can use optical zoom when recording as well, focusing is quick and you can't hear any noise from the mechanism. You can see an example on the ePHOTOzine Youtube Page.

Value For Money

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is available for £449.00. If it's all about the zoom for you, then the only option at 50x optical zoom is the SX50 HS. The next one down is the Nikon Coolpix P510 with 42x optical zoom.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Verdict

The most attractive feature of the SX50 is clearly it's 50x optical zoom lens, not found yet on any other digital cameras. But as well as this, there are ample other features which make it a fantastic option for those looking for a versatile camera. If you're not looking for a camera with interchangeable lenses this could be the camera for you, if you have a decent budget available.

At £449.00 it is a fair investment, but it really doesn't disappoint. Image quality is great, even at higher ISO's up to 3200, with fast continuous shooting, fantastic macros, pleasing portraits and superb close-ups on distance subjects. We found very little to complain about, although the screen could be a little bigger. The SX50 comes highly recommended.

Comments

Great review.....& what great results !!
The Hi-res images, from wide to full tele are amazing from such a small sensor !!!!!...the
Hi-res shots can be blown up on screen by hitting Ctrl and +, up to 8 times for an incredibly
massive image from a 6.16 x 4.6 mm sensor....superb quality !!!!!!
I believe the EVF resolution is a lowly 220,000 dots, which is a little disappointing, so
if one can live with that it's an amazing do-it-all camera...........especially as it shoots
RAW, with quick access to 'Drive', Exp.Comp., ISO, & Macro....Mmmmmm, tasty !!
Very tempting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great review.....& what great results !!

The Hi-res images, from wide to full tele are amazing from such a small sensor !!!!!...the
Hi-res shots can be blown up on screen by hitting Ctrl and +, up to 8 times for an incredibly
massive image from a 6.16 x 4.6 mm sensor....superb quality !!!!!!

I believe the EVF resolution is a lowly 220,000 dots, which is a little disappointing, so
if one can live with that it's an amazing do-it-all camera...........especially as it shoots
RAW, with quick access to 'Drive', Exp.Comp., ISO, & Macro....Mmmmmm, tasty !!

[quote]6.16 x 4.6 mm sensor[/quote]
I wonder how such an easily understood sensor measurement as 6.16x4.6mm ever became 1/2.3inch, about as obscure a way of expressing size as could be devised?
The interesting thing with these ultra-long teles is that even if the lens is sharp, atmospherics will blur them most days.
Amazing how these cameras are coming on.

Quote:6.16 x 4.6 mm sensor

I wonder how such an easily understood sensor measurement as 6.16x4.6mm ever became 1/2.3inch, about as obscure a way of expressing size as could be devised?

The interesting thing with these ultra-long teles is that even if the lens is sharp, atmospherics will blur them most days.

I am really tempted with this one as my Xmas pressie, and not get a tripod...I hope someone has some mid range 700/800mm shots to see, as I do have one in mind. Looks great so far just hope someone can help there?? Chen.

I am really tempted with this one as my Xmas pressie, and not get a tripod...I hope someone has some mid range 700/800mm shots to see, as I do have one in mind. Looks great so far just hope someone can help there?? Chen.

This camera interests me for photographing birds, but I do have some reservations and am watching internet sites to see how people are getting on with it.
A few thoughts, though:
1. Shutter speed at 1200mm equivalent 'hand held.'
Now in theory, the minimum shutter speed required is 1/1200.
If, and of course, it's a big 'if', the IS is as effective as claimed then 4.5 stops advantage would bring the required speed down to something like 1/75s (for 4 stops) - I wonder if it works.
2. Diffraction.
I don't know the the limit at which diffraction is supposed to cause noticeable image degradation, but suspect that at the long end the maximum aperture is well into diffraction territory.
3. Focus / shutter response speeds are reasonable, but if relying on the IS to help reduce the maximum shutter speed needed then how long before the IS is 'ready'?
Pete

This camera interests me for photographing birds, but I do have some reservations and am watching internet sites to see how people are getting on with it.
A few thoughts, though:
1. Shutter speed at 1200mm equivalent 'hand held.'
Now in theory, the minimum shutter speed required is 1/1200.
If, and of course, it's a big 'if', the IS is as effective as claimed then 4.5 stops advantage would bring the required speed down to something like 1/75s (for 4 stops) - I wonder if it works.
2. Diffraction.
I don't know the the limit at which diffraction is supposed to cause noticeable image degradation, but suspect that at the long end the maximum aperture is well into diffraction territory.
3. Focus / shutter response speeds are reasonable, but if relying on the IS to help reduce the maximum shutter speed needed then how long before the IS is 'ready'?
Pete

Can someone please tell me if this camera records in stereo sound or not ????
The specs here say "NO" .....specs on other review sites say "YES" .
Who is right ....who is wrong ????
Also, if anyone knows, what format does a recorded video record in ?
Is it .AVI or .MOV or AVCHD ....or possibly even something else ?
Will the software work with Windows XP ???

Can someone please tell me if this camera records in stereo sound or not ????

The specs here say "NO" .....specs on other review sites say "YES" .

Who is right ....who is wrong ????

Also, if anyone knows, what format does a recorded video record in ?
Is it .AVI or .MOV or AVCHD ....or possibly even something else ?

Now that I know it's been done, even if imperfectly, I'd suggest waiting until another manufacturer (e.g.Fujii, Pentax) bring out this zoom range. They won't be as expensive and the photo quality won't be that different, to any noticeable degree, to the average photographer.

Now that I know it's been done, even if imperfectly, I'd suggest waiting until another manufacturer (e.g.Fujii, Pentax) bring out this zoom range. They won't be as expensive and the photo quality won't be that different, to any noticeable degree, to the average photographer.

the reviews for this camera look good, i have a nikon d90 with 70-300mm lens and i'm not really getting on with it. i mainly shoot wildlife and can't afford a bigger lens, so i was wondering if anyone has the SX50 and what its like for wildlife photography with its super zoom, , just weary of the image quality at longer focal lengths.
any help/advice please
mike

the reviews for this camera look good, i have a nikon d90 with 70-300mm lens and i'm not really getting on with it. i mainly shoot wildlife and can't afford a bigger lens, so i was wondering if anyone has the SX50 and what its like for wildlife photography with its super zoom, , just weary of the image quality at longer focal lengths.

Hell to all!
I just got this camera a month ago and have yet to get a photo without lots of photo noise. If my sx50 took photos like the ones posted here, I would be happy. I am going to contact Canon to see if this is a problem that only I have or is it something common. Because I've tried all settings and still can't get a low noise photo. Any advise?

Hell to all!
I just got this camera a month ago and have yet to get a photo without lots of photo noise. If my sx50 took photos like the ones posted here, I would be happy. I am going to contact Canon to see if this is a problem that only I have or is it something common. Because I've tried all settings and still can't get a low noise photo. Any advise?